Chapter 151: Chapter 151: The Rat
Mount Kikyo, Right Wing Camp.
Inside the intelligence tent, Kitahara Kaede flipped through the latest battle summaries.
He had completed three reconnaissance missions over the past few days, and the intel he brought back had given the Right Wing a significant advantage. Despite this, he remained extremely low-profile during direct engagements, hiding whenever possible and avoiding the spotlight. He feared that if he performed too brilliantly, news would reach Sunagakure and draw the attention of Pakura.
His eyes moved to the reports for the center line.
Sunagakure had launched several attacks over the last two days, but all had been repelled by Konoha’s defensive lines without gaining any ground. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Rasa ordered a retreat.
Kaede continued scrolling, looking for any movement from Minato. There were no records of Minato engaging in direct combat with anyone specific.
Then, he turned the page.
His finger stopped.
At the end of the report was a highlighted note:
"Since yesterday afternoon, there have been no further sightings of the female Sunagakure ninja with the Bloodline Limit who was previously active on the center-left flank."
Kaede stared at that line for several seconds.
Pakura had vanished.
Someone of her caliber wouldn’t simply disappear from the battlefield for no reason. The only explanation was that she had found a more specific target.
Kaede set the report back on the table and took a drink from a nearby canteen. A bad feeling gnawed at him. He paused, then pushed the thought aside. The front line was massive; he was likely just overthinking it.
Right now, there was a more immediate problem.
Whether he was walking through the camp or out on a mission, he had felt a constant gaze on him for the past few days. It wasn’t the gaze of a Sunagakure scout; it was coming from within the camp.
Kaede calmly considered his options. Being on the front lines, he had only one mortal enemy other than Sunagakure.
Danzo.
He still remembered that look from the high-level meeting. Since the other man was waiting for an opportunity, Kaede decided he might as well set the stage himself.
Standing up, Kaede stepped out of the tent. The sun was at its zenith, and the camp was operating as usual. He headed to the mission desk and signed up for a solo deep-reconnaissance mission, tasked with searching for Sunagakure activity on the outskirts of the Right Wing.
It was far from friendly forces, with no witnesses. For the rat hiding in the shadows, this was the perfect time to strike.
After checking his ninja tool pouch, Kaede exited the camp gates and vanished into the dense forest.
***
The woods were silent.
Kaede kept his profile low, moving through the canopy at a moderate pace. After advancing over a kilometer, he stopped at a high point to confirm his position. He had entered the mission area.
He began scanning the surroundings. Before long, a four-man Sunagakure patrol appeared below, marching along a narrow forest path. Crouched on a branch, Kaede noted their route and spacing.
Suddenly, he sensed a dark blur flying toward him from behind.
Kaede looked up.
A kunai, with an Explosive Tag tied to its end, slammed into the tree trunk right beneath his feet. The fuse had already burned down.
Half a second before the blast, Kaede leaped away. He twisted mid-air and landed ten meters away on the ground, one knee supporting his weight as splinters of wood drifted down from above.
Before the dust had even settled, he heard the rapid footsteps of the four Sunagakure ninjas closing in on him.
Kaede swept his gaze around the area.
’Using the enemy’s hand to kill.’
The attacker had exposed his position, intending for the Sunagakure ninja to do the dirty work. Even if he died, it would simply be recorded as "killed in action during a reconnaissance mission."
The corner of Kaede’s mouth twitched. Since that was the plan, he would play along.
As the four Sunagakure ninja approached, he met them head-on, intentionally suppressing his speed. The leader formed hand signs, and a whistling blast of Wind Style sliced toward him.
Kaede had noticed the signs the moment they were formed. He had plenty of time to dodge, but he didn’t. Instead, he stepped sideways and took the hit. The impact of the Wind Style sent him flying backward, his back slamming hard against a thick tree trunk.
A small trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
To him, an attack of this magnitude wasn’t even a minor injury. Seeing Kaede in this state, the Sunagakure ninjas assumed he was merely an ordinary ninja who had been separated from his unit. They quickened their pace, closing in to finish him off.
Kaede "struggled" to climb up from the ground, his expression mimicking a desperate last stand.
The first man lunged forward with a kunai. Kaede stepped to the left, appearing to stumble as he dodged, but in reality, his elbow drove deep into the man’s ribs. The ninja let out a muffled groan, his knees buckling.
Kaede smoothly snatched the kunai from the man’s hand and drove it into the throat of the second attacker.
The third man launched a kick from the side. Kaede leaned back, falling as if he had been hit, but as he hit the ground, he braced himself with one hand and snapped his foot upward, catching the fourth ninja squarely under the chin.
Before the final ninja could react, Kaede was already in his space. A knee strike shattered the man’s bridge of his nose, followed immediately by a grip on the back of his head, slamming him face-first into the dirt.
After "laboriously" finishing the fight, Kaede leaned against a large tree, panting heavily. He braced one hand on his knee, head low, shoulders heaving.
But his downward-cast eyes were perfectly calm.
’The act is over. Time to come out.’
Ten seconds of silence passed.
Then, kunai flew from three directions simultaneously. Left, right, and directly above—every escape route was sealed.
Kaede collapsed, pretending to be struck.
Following the attack, three figures wearing white masks and no forehead protectors leaped from the canopy, surrounding him in a triangular formation.
Kaede showed no panic. His gaze shifted to the hilt of the short sword held by one of the men. The extremely fine forging patterns on the pommel were used exclusively by the Konoha ANBU and Root.
Root.
"Danzo really is disgusting."
Kaede stopped pretending.
He suddenly erupted with speed that far exceeded that of a Chunin, vanishing from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already behind the Root agent in front of him.
Lightning Style chakra coated his hand like a blade, piercing straight through the agent’s heart.
The man to the left widened his eyes, spinning his short sword in a desperate slash. Kaede withdrew his hand and pivoted, letting the blade graze his shoulder. In the same motion, a flash of lightning sparked from his right hand, and his palm-blade punched through the agent’s chest.
The last Root agent was frozen in shock, his body instinctively trying to retreat. But before he could take two steps, Kaede was in front of him. He gripped the man’s mask and slammed him into the ground.
Lightning surged from Kaede’s palm through the mask. The agent’s body convulsed twice and then went completely still.
Kaede stood in silence, dissipating the Lightning Style from his hand. He looked down at the shattered white mask at his feet.
He recalled the gaze he had felt behind him in the narrow alley after leaving the high-level meeting. At the time, he had ignored it and kept walking. Thinking back, Danzo must have decided then.
If he couldn’t be recruited, he had to be eliminated.
Kaede crushed the mask under his boot. Constant concession only emboldened the enemy. This man had to be uprooted entirely.
He knelt to search the three bodies, but found nothing that could be traced back to Danzo. As expected.
Kaede stood and formed a hand sign.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A torrent of flames engulfed everything on the ground, incinerating the Root agents and the Sunagakure squad alike. The firelight flickered across his face for a few seconds before dying out.
Kaede turned to retreat.
***
At the same time, in the dense forest on the outskirts of the Right Wing...
A figure wearing a black, open-back outfit was weaving through the canopy at high speed, long orange hair fluttering in the wind.
Pakura spent a full day and night searching through the center and left flanks.
She had interrogated numerous Konoha shinobi, but not a single one of them had ever heard the name "Kitahara Kaede."
Eventually, she decided to cross the battlefield and head toward the right flank.
Upon arriving at the right flank’s combat zone, Sunagakure command assigned her to inspect the security of several outlying outposts. Pakura accepted the mission and set off alone through the dense forest.
Near the third outpost, she keenly sensed movement ahead.
The scent of something burning lingered in the air.
Pakura’s orange eyes narrowed instantly. With a powerful burst of speed, she lunged toward the source.
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